The law firms, Holland & Knight, Akerman, Vinson & Elkins, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, and McDermott Will & Emery all have something in common: They are all non-New York based firms that have added significant groups to their real estate practice in New York in the last 18 months. Many firms seem to view real estate as secondary in importance after corporate and private equity work when looking to increase profitability. In New York City, however, it is a missed opportunity, and some Am Law firms are proving exactly that.
Why a Strong Real Estate Practice Matters
Although New York may be known best for corporate legal work, real estate is not far behind. Despite modest declines in recent years, the New York City real estate market is solid and appears to be improving. Increases in investment sales, office leasing, mergers and acquisitions, competition among lenders and other matters have provided steady work for real estate attorneys in the last year. As reported in The Real Deal’s 2018 survey, the top 10 New York City real estate practices worked on nearly $25 billion of lender-side loans and nearly $14 billion of borrower-side sales. In addition, there were 1,117 real estate lawyers working at the top 20 firms, up nearly 7 percent from 2017 and more than 11 percent from 2016.
